Identity, Tradition and Conflict: Asian Films Venice Film festival 2026

What image of contemporary Asia is arriving at Venice 83? This year’s selection portrays a continent shaped by inequality, class conflict, colonial legacies and unresolved questions of identity and belonging.

Japan has the strongest presence, with filmmakers including Hirokazu Koreeda, Shinya Tsukamoto and Takashi Miike. South Korea brings Lee Chang-dong’s new film to the main competition, while China, Hong Kong and Taiwan emerge through increasingly transnational productions. The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have a smaller presence, but introduce some of the selection’s most politically incisive perspectives.

The most visible roles are occupied by established masters of Asian cinema, while new directors, diasporic filmmakers and digital experimentation appear mainly in Orizzonti, the short-film programmes and Venice Immersive.

What emerges is an Asia far removed from the exclusively technological, pop-driven or economically triumphant image often presented in the West. These films look at modernity without separating it from war, inequality and inherited traditions. The past is not simply remembered: it continues to shape families, territories and identities.

We selected six particularly significant titles through which to understand the cinemas, generations and themes defining the Asian presence at Venice 83.

Six Asian Films to Watch

Possible Love by Lee Chang-dong This is probably the most prominent Asian title in the main competition. It brings together major figures in Korean cinema, including Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. Through two married couples, it explores work, inequality, dismissals and class conflict in contemporary South Korea.

Credit: Possible Love di Lee Chang-dong Biennale 83

Look Back by Hirokazu Koreeda The film is notable for bringing Koreeda together with Tatsuki Fujimoto, author of the manga on which it is based. The story follows two girls over thirteen years, united by their desire to become manga artists.

In doing so, the film brings to Venice the increasingly close relationship between manga, auteur cinema and Japan’s cultural industry.

Credit: Look Back di Hirokazu Koreeda Biennale 83

Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? by Shinya Tsukamoto

Tsukamoto tells the true story of Allen Nelson, a US Marine sent to Vietnam who later became an anti-war activist. The film opens a discussion about Japan, US military bases, the Vietnam War and the trauma experienced by those who took part in violence.

Credit: Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? di Shinya Tsukamoto Biennale 83

Makikiraan po by Lav Diaz Set in the Philippines in 1617, during Spanish colonial rule, the film addresses colonialism, religious conversion, violence and forced labour. It is the most significant title for representing Filipino cinema and a decolonial reading of the country’s history.

Credit: Makikiraan po di Lav Diaz biennale 83

The Color of the Sun by Xavier Tera Set in Okinawa, the film connects an island teenager with a boy raised inside a US military base. It is particularly relevant to questions of identity, belonging, the American presence and colonial memory across the archipelago.

Credit: The Color of the Sun di Xavier Tera Biennale 83

Shumei: The Living Legacy of Kabuki by Takashi Miike Miike’s first feature-length documentary follows the succession ceremony of Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII and the passing of kabuki tradition to the next generation.

The documentary observes how a historic tradition is inherited, transformed and lived in contemporary Japan.

Credit: Kishin Shinoyama Shumei: The Living Legacy of Kabuki di Takashi Miike - Biennale 83

To broaden the perspective beyond these six principal titles, here are all the Asian films included in the selected sections of Venice 83.

All Asian Titles Selected at Venice 83

Venice 83 Competition

• Look Back, directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan

• Ga-neung-han sa-rang (Possible Love), directed by Lee Chang-dong, South Korea

• Nelson san, anata wa hito wo koroshimashitaka? (Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?), directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan, United States, Thailand, Vietnam

Venice Open, Out of Competition

• Makikiraan po (Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors), directed by Lav Diaz, Philippines

• Arrested Memory, directed by Sabu, Taiwan, Japan

• Shumei: The Living Legacy of Kabuki, directed by Takashi Miike, Japan

• Weichen (Dust), directed by Tsai Ming-liang, Taipei, Spain

• Everest: The Other Side, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, United States, China, Nepal

• Intermission, directed by Yonfan, Hong Kong

Orizzonti

• Yak Mai (The Burning Giants), directed by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng, Thailand, France, Singapore, Netherlands

• The Color of the Sun, directed by Xavier Tera, Canada, Italy, Japan

• Huangyan Shenghuo (Big Little Things), directed by Michelle Zhou, Hong Kong, United States

• Man Made Lake, directed by Annie Ning, United States, China, short film

• Head of a Camel, directed by Shannon Lee, United States, short film by a Korean-American director

Venice Spotlight

• Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing, directed by Erik Shirai, Japan, United States, Denmark, United Kingdom

Venice Classics

• Woo Yuet dik goo si (The Story of Woo Viet), directed by Ann Hui, Hong Kong, 1981

• Minjing gushi (On the Beat), directed by Ning Ying, China, 1995

• Gyoei no mure (The Catch), directed by Shinji Sōmai, Japan, 1983

Venice Immersive

• Back to the Experience, directed by Jessien Huang, China

• Nox, directed by Rio Nakada, Japan

• Shifting Connections, directed by Tungyen Chou, Taipei

• The Pigeon Ring, directed by Yuqi Zhang and Shixin Tao, China

• Tomori, directed by Misa Haru, Japan

• Voooooo---Peeeeee---, directed by Jiyun Park and Hyeunjoo Woo, South Korea

• Ulrica, directed by Hongbo Cai, United States, Mexico, Micronesia, by a Chinese-American director

Follow CZMOS to explore Asian cinema beyond its most visible titles, through the filmmakers, industries and stories redefining the continent.